Movie Review: Tank Girl (1995)
Synopsis: In the year 2033, the Earth is a desert wasteland following a collision with a comet and 95 percent of the world's water supply is under the control of a tyrannical corporation that is determined to gain control of the remaining 5 percent by any means possible. The only person standing in their way is a tank-driving hero from Australia.
Who's in it? The movie stars Lori Petty, Malcolm McDowell, Ice-T, Don Harvey and Naomi Watts.
Review: It had been pretty much forever since I had seen Tank Girl. So, when I came across it this morning on one of my movie channels and had some free time, I decided to re-watch it. As has been the case when I've seen it in the past, I enjoyed every minute.
The thing I like about this movie is it manages to be funny while, at the same time, is a pretty decent action movie. Tank Girl/Rebecca (Petty) is facing off against a well-armed army and has everything working against her from almost the very beginning. At the same time, she's a character who is deceptively clever, constantly finding ways to get out of impossible situations, much to the dismay of the main bad guy, Kesslee (McDowell).
This, along with the anti-heroes that manage to help her along the way keep the movie from being anywhere near as predictable as it could have been. Basically, it was a movie that clearly would have the good guy win the day, but it was unclear how.
Another thing I found I appreciated about this film is the writers didn't assume everyone watching it had read the comic it was based off of. This is a pet peeve of mine when it comes to other comic book-inspired movies because, more often than not, I spend most of my time looking up vague references that make no sense without that background information. While I'm sure there were still some things left out, this movie does a good job of at least summarizing the basics, including who the major characters are and what happened up until the point the film started.
Probably my only real complaint about this movie are the numerous crude sexual innuendos throughout. This, in itself, isn't something I normally care all that much about. However, after a while, they did seem to get a bit repetitive and just weren't as entertaining as they probably were meant to be. In other words, the writers could have cut quite a few of them out without having any real impact on the plot or overall entertainment value of the movie.
There are also some scenes that over do things a bit, such as the song and dance number at the sex club, which just seemed like overkill. Don't get me wrong, most of those scenes are entertaining, just a bit on the lengthy side and delaying some of the better action scenes.
Final Opinion: This isn't a movie that is going to be mistaken for an Oscar winner. However, it does manage to be very entertaining, which is pretty much the only thing I ask for when I watch movies. Even if you haven't read the comic strip it is based off of, it is worth taking the time to watch it.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other dystopian movies:
Movie Review: Death Race (2008)
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